The PNS Mehran attack was an attack/shooting by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al Qaeda which took place on 22 May 2011, at PNS Mehran, the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm and the most populous Pakistani military installation, located near the PAF's Faisal Air Force Base of Karachi, Sindh.
In the course of the event, 15 attackers killed 18 military personnel and wounded 16 in a sophisticated terrorist attack which lasted 16 hours."[Pakistan Primer Pt. 2] From Kashmir to the FATA: The ISI Loses Control ," Global Bearings, 28 October 2011. Two American-built P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft were destroyed.
According to the United States and Western intelligence sources, the attack was far more dangerous than the 2009 Pakistan Army General Headquarters attack, and was better planned and more rehearsed than the previous attack. It was the biggest attack on the Navy and its assets since 1971, and is believed to have been the last major attack of militant mastermind Ilyas Kashmiri."[Pakistan Primer Pt. 2] From Kashmir to the FATA: The ISI Loses Control ," Global Bearings, 28 October 2011. The Special Service Group (Navy) (SSG (N)), carried out the counter-attack, which was the largest operation led by SSG (N).
Motive for the attack The Pakistan Navy noted al-Qaeda members within its ranks. Raids were carried out and certain members were arrested by the Naval Intelligence. The talks that ensued between the Navy and the al-Qaeda did not succeed, since the Navy did not release the arrested members. Warnings were issued and after the death of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda attacked the naval base.
TTP preparation against the Navy A month prior to the attack on PN Naval Base Mehran, the Pakistan Navy was twice targeted for bombings in various locations of Karachi by unknown perpetrators. The first of the bombings took place on 21 April 2011 on two naval buses and the second attack happened on 28 April 2011 on a naval coaster. An estimated 12 lives (all of them were medical staff and naval officers) including one lady naval officer, were lost since the start of the bombing. Prior to the attacks, Naval intelligence was twice alerted by the TTP's attack on Pakistan naval facilities in Karachi.
Raid The attack took place on the evening of 22 May at around 20:30 (17:30 GMT) when a 15-man TTP force stormed the three hangars housing aircraft at the Mehran naval aviation base. The militants had cut the barbed wire fence at a place on the perimeter fence where they could not be detected by security cameras, and they were wearing black clothes. The militants first attacked the aircraft parked on the tarmac and the equipment in nearby hangars. They used rocket-propelled grenades to damage and destroy several warplanes and premiere anti-submarine and marine surveillance aircraft—the US-made P-3C Orion. Several multimillion-dollar aircraft were set ablaze.
According to Naval Intelligence, the militants entered the naval base from the airfield of Faisal Air Force Base, near Mehran Naval Base. The militants then entered nearby buildings and opened fire indiscriminately, killing several naval personnel, and afterwards carried their raid into the heart of the base. According to the intelligence reports, the militants were not Taliban, judging from their abilities and training.
Combat Following the attack, the teams of SSG (N) arrived at the scene of shooting from their headquarters. At 05:00, six hours after the assault had begun, the counter-operation started. By the time SSG (N) arrived, the attackers had taken position on the roof of an adjacent two-storey building used by Pakistan Navy for pre- and post-flight briefings and debriefings. Prime Minister Gillani personally monitored this operation, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and Chief of Naval Staff stayed in direct contact with Prime Minister Gillani. The core objectives of the mission were issued to SSG (N) teams. The main priority of mission was to recover and evacuate the foreign military advisers from the scene of shooting. The second objective was to either kill or apprehend the militants. The third and final objective was issued by the Naval Intelligence, in which the SSG (N) were instructed to recover the bodies of militants to prevent further mutilation, in order to carry out the investigations. The complex, which the foreign advisers were held in, has a crew room, a lounge, a briefing room and a leisure room and small offices. The gang leader, however, stayed in front of the building, taking a position on the ground. As the teams engaged, the leader went inside the building. A sniper on the rooftop began firing rounds at the SSG (N) teams, taking out men with the help of night-vision equipment. The militant sniper also killed three naval firefighters and two Rangers, who were providing cover for naval firefighters, who were trying to get control of a fire on a P3C-Orion aircraft. The SSG (N) teams quickly targeted the sniper. The sniper was shot in the head and fell on the ground from the top of the complex. According to Naval Intelligence, the militants were only targeting the aircraft and its crew who were unarmed, mostly pilots and officers. The SSG (N) teams provided the cover to the crew in a heavy exchange of fire while the crew took the aircraft to a safe place. The SSG (N) teams had pushed and forced the militants into retaliation, after SSG (N) took aggressive counter measure. The militants ran and hid in a complex near the airport.
It was reported that five Pakistan military personnel were killed and eleven wounded. The dead included one sailor, three firefighters and an Army ranger. The first SSG (N) team, under Lieutenant Abbase, entered the first floor of the complex, where Abbase's team first secured and evacuated the 17 foreign military advisers and technicians who were providing training to the Pakistan Navy's officials. The Navy reported that the SSG (N) teams successfully evacuated 11 PLA Air Force technicians and six USN military advisers, along with securing the other aircraft from further damage. The SSG (N) teams evacuated the foreign advisers from the back of the complex. The Sea King, belonging to No. 111th Naval Squadron of Special Operations Command, took off to an unknown location from the scene carrying the foreign military advisers and other naval officers, including a Rear-Admiral who was reportedly seen engaged with the militants in the complex. During this course, none of the foreign advisers, technicians, hostages, or even the SSG (N) members were killed. After achieving the first core objectives, the SSG (N) teams made a contact with four militants on the first floor who came to learn about the foreign advisers. In a 15-minute-long battle, all of the four militants were disarmed and apprehended by the SSG (N). At 07:00, more than 30 SSG (N) teams entered and penetrated into the base. As the teams progressed, eight heavy explosions were heard inside the base in the space of 30 minutes. At 7:30, the TTP claimed the responsibility of the attack. Reuters quoted the words of Ehsanullah Ehsan (the spokesperson of TTP) by telephone from an undisclosed location, "It was the revenge of martyrdom of Osama bin Laden. It was the proof that we are still united and powerful". At 10:00, the militants took control of the air traffic control tower but had not taken any hostages; the staff had escaped prior to the militants' seizing of the tower. The SSG (N) then entered one by one to take control over the tower, and after a two-hour-long battle, the SSG (N) took control of the tower with five wounded militants in custody. At 12:00, the Navy reported that the death toll of its officers has risen to 12, of which eleven were members of the Navy, one an Army Ranger. At 13:00, when the operation officially ended, 18 sailors were reported to have been killed and 16 others wounded. In all, it took approximately 16 hours to secure the base.
Responsibility The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) publicly claimed the responsibility of the attack. Reuters quoted the words of Ehsanullah Ehsan, the spokesperson of TTP, by telephone from an undisclosed location, "It was the revenge of martyrdom of Osama bin Laden. It was the proof that we are still united and powerful,". Lieutenant-General (retired) Hamid Gul, former director-general of the ISI, rejected the TTP claim. Gul blamed the United States for this incident as Gul told the Channel 4 News that there is absolutely no doubt that this was a US operation. However, Gul did not provide any evidence for his claim. Later Channel 4 News contacted the US Department of State but they did not respond to the request. According to media reports, three of the assailants were Uzbeks, and they were commanded by a Pakistani national.
On 25 May, senior Naval Intelligence officials told The News International that CIA contractors and anti-Pakistan lobbies had used al-Qaeda for carrying out the raid. Officials also asserted that an external force[s] was behind for such attack, and the main objective of such raid was to destroy the P3-C Orion aircraft. Officials at Naval Intelligence also believed that a group of al-Qaeda and TTP had been trained in Afghanistan by an anti-Pakistan force to carry out such operations against the state.
Prior to his disappearance and murder, journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad wrote in the Asia Times Online that al-Qaeda carried out the attack after negotiations with the Navy for the release of officials, suspected of al-Qaeda links, had failed. According to Shahzad, the attackers were all from Ilyas Kashmiri's 313 Brigade of al-Qaeda.
The News International reported in December 2011 that the TTP-associated Punjabi Taliban had been involved in the attack. According to the wife of Qari Faisal, a slain leader of the Punjabi Taliban, the group had provided the militants with food and logistical support. She also claimed that the militants had been of foreign origin.
Investigation The Naval Intelligence of Pakistan launched a formal investigation into the PNS Mehran attack, with an investigation team which will be headed by a two-star rear admiral, and officials from the Naval Intelligence. According to Interior Ministry officials the investigation team includes officers from Air Intelligence (Pakistan Air Force), FIA, and Army Rangers officers. A senior officer of the Interior Ministry's Crisis Management Cell has said that the PNS Mehran attack has caused Pakistan a loss of 6.47 billion rupees.
GEO News also reported that severe contradictions have emerged following the attack on PNS Mehran. The differences found in the statements of Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Chief of Naval Staff and the FIR lodged by the Navy have complicated the matter. Lieutenant Irfan Asghar (who was on night duty when the base was attacked) reported that 10 to 12 terrorists had attacked the base. According to the Police, proof had been found that four terrorists were involved in the attack and they were carrying suicide jackets and other explosives.